


Debt

by Daniscats, Joking611



Series: Cari'ssi'mi Drabbles [45]
Category: Mass Effect, Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Cari'ssi'mi, Destroy Ending, F/F, Thessia (Mass Effect)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-11
Updated: 2018-11-11
Packaged: 2019-08-21 22:28:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16585457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daniscats/pseuds/Daniscats, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joking611/pseuds/Joking611
Summary: As Thessia begins to recover from the War, Sarah reverts to form by lamenting those she couldn't save.Liara suggests a method of assuaging that guilt.





	Debt

**Author's Note:**

> For N7 day 2018, but ended up only being posted the same week

The estate was quiet in a way that someone who hadn’t lived with a staff of hundreds would never suspect. Quiet enough that Liara was convinced she could hear her own heartbeat. Quiet enough that she could sense Shepard’s absence even without the benefit of their connection.

She sighed, swinging her feet to the floor. She left the comfort of the bed behind, only stopping long enough to collect her _hi’daa_ , pulling it loosely around her before exiting their suite.

Some house personnel were always awake of course, no matter the hour. Even without the consideration of security, House T’Soni did business on every Council world, and across every time zone on Thessia. Those functions did not require Liara’s direct involvement, and she knew better than to expect that any of her personal staff would be available unless she called for them.

As for those assigned or sworn to Shepard, well, Liara would be surprised if Denai weren't skulking around somewhere in case Sarah needed her. Sometimes she wondered if the matron ever slept.

Her people knew her routines well. No one intruded upon her solitude as she made her way through the residence. Her bare feet tread silently on the warm stone, making no sound. There was no obvious indication, but she knew she was being watched all the same. She understood the need. She never cared about her own safety as much as when she became responsible for the wellbeing of those she loved. Where once she would have been horrified at the cost and resources spent on her security, now she accepted the necessity. One more thing that she understood about Benezia's life, far too late for her to share that newfound understanding with her.

There were no guests at the estate, the many bedrooms and suites undisturbed. The library was empty, as was what had been her mother’s study, which Shepard had claimed for her models. Aethyta was traveling, one of her secretive trips where Liara pretended not to know what business her father was up to. Otherwise her rooms would have been an obvious place for Sarah to seek refuge. Liara often found her bondmate and her father together, the human and asari demonstrating their affection through inordinate amounts of abuse. Nowhere was there sign of the human, so Liara continued on, finally making her way to the main staircase. 

A brief visit to the kitchen confirmed what her nose already knew. There was no coffee brewing, none of Shepard’s beloved stimulant, warm and waiting.

Liara sighed again. There were a few places inside the house she might still check. One of the gyms perhaps, or one of the entertainment suites with the larger vidscreens. Both unlikely at this hour.

Shepard was gregarious, as anyone who ever accepted one of her overtures at conversation was well aware. But she was also considerate, meaning she wouldn’t have roused someone just to have someone to talk to. Liara shook her head. She again wished that when Sarah couldn’t sleep, she would rouse _her_.

That was the point, to be there for each other. They had discussed it in roundabout ways in the past, and Shepard had agreed with her, only to immediately fall back into old habits. Liara knew that this particular habit was born years ago, before the War, when a young woman lost everyone and learned to rely only on herself, keeping everyone at a distance.

It had worked for her for years but it would not work now. It was a habit that would need to be broken if they hoped to get through this. Together was the only way forward. That was why Iadri was here, why Liara arranged for Karin to call so regularly. Nightmares or no, Sarah continued to deny the wounds the war had left on her psyche. Wounds that might have crushed a lesser will, let alone one that had already endured so much. The death of her parents. Elysium. Her own death. She would smile, and wave off the concerns of others, asking what she could do for them instead.

Behaviors which failed her when night fell and sleep wouldn’t come. When the voices of the dead where the only sounds she could hear.

The thought stopped the maiden cold, even as it gave her an idea. Shepard would suffer in solitude, but she wouldn’t suffer in silence. The all-encompassing quiet of the estate is what Sarah would seek escape from.

Before she could act on her realization, Denai was at her elbow.

“Good morning, Peeress,” she said quietly. “Tea?”

 _‘Goddess,’_ thought Liara. And she’d thought her mother had been obtrusive. “No, thank you, Denai,” she replied as if meeting Shepard's _princeps_ in the kitchen happened in the middle of every night.

The matron nodded her response, uncommonly offering _lidifemea,_ likely in an attempt to set Liara at ease. “Coffee will likely assist in calming Sarah, and since I was going to make some anyway...”

“In that case I would be grateful for some tea.”

Denai nodded as she turned back to the kitchen.

 .o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.

The night was warm, which was fortunate, as Liara couldn’t spare a hand to tighten her robe. There was a light breeze as she crossed the great lawn on her way to the cliffs overlooking the sea, carefully carrying a mug of hot liquid in each hand.  
  
Shepard, her destination, had been visible from the moment she’s stepped outside. Her pale skin practically shining in the starlight. She was seated at the edge of the bluffs, looking out over the ocean as she often did.  
  
The Nasrya Sea often held Sarah’s attention when she wasn’t working or otherwise dealing with the aftereffects of the War for the galaxy she’d saved, but which still came to her to solve all its problems. Growing up on a farm, it was the only ocean she’d ever known, other than 2181 Despoina.

Normally Liara left her to those introspective moments, as they seemed to bring her bondmate peace.

But they also didn’t normally occur an hour after midnight.

The maiden sat down in the grass to Shepard’s left, hesitant to have Sarah on the side with her prosthetic leg. Her bondmate seemed particularly sensitive this evening, and Liara knew that she’d never stopped blaming herself for Liara’s injury.

Liara herself paid it no mind. Her transplant would be fully grown in another twenty-five months or so. Teaching an asari’s highly aggressive immune system not to reject it was going to be far more of an inconvenience than the artificial leg she now wore. Her prosthetic felt as real to her as the leg it replaced, with only the slight mismatch of color communicating that it wasn’t the limb she’d been born with.

Sarah accepted the coffee without comment, but did move slightly, until she was in contact with Liara from hip to shoulder. Liara was relieved. It meant she wouldn’t have to fight her way through any initial attempts at rejection.

They watched the ocean together in silence. Liara waited until she felt that Shepard was as calm as she could be, without facing the cause of her distress.

“Hello, Shepard.” It was the way so many of their conversations began.

“Hey Liara.” Sarah nuzzled Liara’s shoulder affectionately. Liara warmed to the attention, even though she knew that there was at least some attempt to distract her in it.

“It’s late.” Small moves, as not to cause Sarah to raise her defenses too quickly.

“Sorry,” Shepard murmured in response as she turned away. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“I would never miss an opportunity to spend time with my bondmate,” replied Liara before taking a sip of her tea.

Shepard chuckled. “You’re getting better at this. I almost believe you.”

“It’s the truth.” Liara sighed. “I’ve had to become very good at lying, Shepard. I hope to never have to show you precisely how skilled I've become.”

“Well, you don’t have to pretend you want to be out here, Liara. I couldn’t sleep. No big deal.” She patted Liara’s leg. “I’ll come in shortly.”

 _‘Let the denial begin,’_ thought Liara.

“What brings you out here? Not that it isn’t lovely.”

“Like I said. Couldn’t sleep. I was thinking about that lieutenant. Kurin. From the mission for the asari beacon.”

As If Liara could forget one of the many missions that almost cost her her bondmate and where she feared she had lost her world forever as well.

“I remember,” Liara prompted Sarah to continue.

“I browbeat her into holding their position, into letting us through.”

“It was her job, Shepard.”

“I got her killed.”

“Many people died that day Shepard. And the day after. And the day after that. Are they your fault as well?”

“No, but she was.”

“Without going to the beacon, we never would have found Vendetta, never deployed the Crucible, or learned the nature of the Catalyst.”

“There’s always another way.”

“Shepard. The other way was galactic extinction. Kurin died. That is indeed a tragedy, but Thessia survived. Armali survived. The entire asari race... survived.” Shepard was staring silently out into the ocean, so Liara took her by the chin and turned her towards herself. “Look at me Shepard. What would you think of the Lieutenant if giving her life would have saved the asari race, would have saved _me_ ,” she fought dirty here, “but she refused to make the sacrifice her oath required of her?”

“I’d understand that...”

“Bullshit Shepard,” interrupted Liara, proud for a moment at how Sarah started at Liara’s use of the human vulgarity. “I’ve been inside that beautiful head of yours, and I would not want to be the person you blamed for my death, no matter why, how, or for what justification. I’ve been on the other side of that equation too, much to the Shadow Broker’s chagrin. Wars have losses. I understand your guilt, but it is not justified.”

Shepard just stared at her, incredulous. “Liara, I…”

Liara took Shepard’s face in her hands, and silenced her with a kiss. When she stopped, she continued holding her close, talking against her mouth.

“Shepard. I’m going to tell Iadri that you’ve been having trouble sleeping again. Please talk to her, or she’ll want another series of healing melds.”

“I hate healing melds,” pouted Sarah.

“I know, love.” Liara kissed her again. “And while you do that for me, I will find out if the lieutenant has any surviving family. People who might want to hear from the Savior of the Galaxy that their loved one’s life wasn’t spent in vain, but had a demonstrable impact in ending the war. That she was a hero who held her post when it mattered.”

“It wouldn’t matter to me if you died a hero,” argued Sarah.

“I’m not doing this for them, Shepard. I’m doing this for you.”

Shepard nodded agreement. “Either way, that’s a good idea. It never occurred to me to reach out to her family. It’s the right thing to do. To see if they are doing okay, and helping them if they need it.” She kissed Liara this time. “And here I thought I married you for your looks.”

“You are a person of action, Shepard. You’ll feel better if you face this.”

“You’re right. I love it. You find out if she has any surviving family, and I’ll see them first thing in the morning.”

“ _After_ you talk to Iadri, Shepard.”

“Aww...”

 .o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.

 

Shepard studied the datapad that contained the information on Elanyha, Kurin’s daughter. The maiden was Kurin’s only child and the only known survivor of the lieutenant’s family. The file contained the usual information that Shepard had come to associate with a “Shadow Broker” working profile. The file was clear, well organized, and had entirely too much information.

She skimmed through pages of personal data. Everything from the child’s birthday, to her grades in school, and her apparent lack of romantic encounters – not surprising for a maiden her age. Shepard slowed when she reached a set of images of the young asari and her mother. Pre-war, obviously, but by how much Shepard couldn’t be certain. Kurin looked as Shepard remembered, and if she’d been human, she would have guessed the daughter at somewhere around fourteen or fifteen. They seemed happy.

When Sarah looked up from the pair, the view that greeted her was far less tranquil. Instead of a proud mother with her child, she now found herself face to face with three frustrated asari.

Sarah had originally insisted on going alone to visit the 65-year-old maiden, but had finally compromised when Liara threatened to send a complete honor guard to accompany her. So now they were standing outside, next to their aircar, parked in one of the newly reconstructed parts of Dassus.

Dust and the noise of machinery filled the air. The sounds of reconstruction were everywhere. Asari of all ages were visible in every direction. Huge machines of different types could be seen recycling debris, carrying materials, raising buildings. Shepard thought the majority of the workers that she could see looked tired, but hopeful.

They were nearly a kilometer from her destination, a large newly-built apartment complex near what had once been an outlying part of the city. Now, the area was bustling with activity, the former downtown considered to be still too radioactive to reclaim after some older ships with fusion drives crashed there while trying to defend the city.

Sarah shook her head to focus. Her bondmate was trying to argue with her, and unfortunately for the angry maiden, Shepard thought Liara was adorable when she tried to take a stern tone with her.

Denai and Eliata watched with trepidation, Liara and Shepard’s interaction doing nothing to allay their suspicion that this endeavor was fated to end badly.  

Recognizing that Shepard was again paying attention, Liara took a deep breath to begin again.

“Shepard. You are presenting her with an offer of support from House T’Soni. There is a formality to this. It would be unheard of for you to go to someone’s home alone, without even an escort.”

“Come on, Liara, you said it yourself. She’s just a kid. And she’s the kid of a low-level military officer with no connection to one of the Houses. I don’t want to make this any more difficult by having an entourage and turning it into something official. This is going to be upsetting enough for her. I need to do this right.”

“Yes, she is a child but she is also asari. To say that she will be stunned to see a patrician of a great House on her doorstep would be an understatement. To see that patrician standing alone, without an accompaniment, will not make this better. It will be confusing and unnerving for her.” Liara cast about for a comparison. “How would you react if the prime minister of the Alliance showed up to your door unannounced? Or if she offered her support, unasked and without preamble? What would your thoughts be?”

“Which is to say nothing of the fact that this is one of the more crime-ridden regions of Thessia since the War,” Denai added, “and it is our duty to protect the members of the House.” 

Shepard held up her hands in surrender. “Okay, okay. You can wait inside the building if you want, but I’m still going to her apartment alone.” She turned from Denai. “Liara, this was your idea. You were the one to say that facing this will help me so here I am, facing it. Do we have to make it even more difficult than it already is? I’ve gotta tell this kid how her mother died. This isn’t going to be easy for either of us.”

Liara considered for a moment and then sighed in resigned acceptance.

“Fine, Shepard. Denai and I will accompany you inside the building. Eliata, you remain outside, and position yourself as you deem necessary.”

“Yes, Peeress.”

“Outstanding.” Shepard turned away from the others and started towards the building, her shoulders back, her face determined.  
  


.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.  
  


A half hour later, Shepard was sitting in the modest apartment of the young asari from the photos, sitting across from her. Elanyha shared it with three other asari of similar age, who left immediately upon recognizing the maiden’s visitor.

Shepard was doing her best to finish her depiction of events sympathetically, but without becoming too emotional. Her audience was already wiping tears from her face while Shepard described the details of the mission.

“So, then your mother stayed behind, she and her platoon providing a rear guard while my team continued on to the temple. Without them at our back, we never would have made it. Once we reached the temple and... ‘ _utterly failed in our mission_ ’, Shepard thought bitterly before continuing. “After we finished at the temple, we tried to contact them to coordinate evac from the hot zone, but we couldn’t make contact.” Shepard looked down for a moment. “We saw her location overrun by reapers. One landed almost directly on her squad’s position.” She shook her head. “There was no further communication from her or her squad after that.”

She looked up, meeting the maiden’s eyes. “I’m not telling you this because I want to cause you pain. I know that there’s nothing I can say to take away your loss. But I wanted you to know that your mother died a hero. Thessia, and the entire galaxy, were saved because we were able to make it to that temple, and we were only able to complete our mission because your mother and her team were able to watch our back.”

The young maiden looked at Shepard through tear filled eyes.

“So, when you went back to their location, were the any survivors? Did you...see her body? Was she killed instantly? Did she suffer or....” She trailed off.

The maiden couldn’t finish her questions, overcome with emotion. Shepard waited quietly, giving the youngster the time she needed to collect herself, before she continued. How could she make her understand?

“I don’t know the answers to those questions.” Shepard quietly responded when Elanyha regained her composure. “The reaper attack was escalating rapidly. We didn’t have any air support. We had to evac or be overrun ourselves. If we didn’t get out quickly, we would have lost...”

“What?!” The young asari’s facial expression changed from sadness to anger in an instant. “You didn’t even go back to check if she was still alive?!”

“I know It's difficult to understand, but it was obvious from our position that NOTHING could have survived at that location. If we had tried to go back, we would have been killed ourselves. It would have cost us the mission. It would have cost us the galaxy. Then NONE of us would be here. That’s how important this mission was.”

“The mission? The MISSION?! Who cares about your mission? That was my mother, you coward!” Screamed the maiden. “You left her behind to save yourself? You didn’t even TRY? You could have saved her! If your ship could evac you, they could have evacuated her!”

Shepard took a deep breath, allowing the young asari to continue.

“You sacrificed her! She meant nothing to you! She was a tool to accomplish your mission and that’s ALL you cared about. You might as well have killed her yourself!”

Shepard continued to sit silently, her face a stone, not even trying to defend herself from the verbal onslaught. _‘She’s right. I deserve this. I deserve this and more.’_

 _“_ You’re no hero! A hero would have saved the people who helped her. You’re just a fraud. You’re just a....”

The maiden’s voice trailed off as she began sobbing again. Shepard let her go for a few moments before she continued.

“I don’t blame you for hating me. It’s okay if you hate me. I’m not here for your forgiveness and I don’t deserve it anyway.” Shepard stopped for a moment to get her voice under control again. “I’m here for two reasons. I wanted you to know what a hero your mother was. She was a brave soldier who stood her ground against an impossible enemy,” _‘after I browbeat her into sacrificing herself_.’ “And I wanted to make sure that the daughter of that hero was provided for. That she has what she needs to have a good life, so that she can someday have daughters of her own. House T’Soni is going to pay your living and educational expenses for the next fifty years. There are no strings attached.” Shepard admonished herself. “There is nothing that you need to do in return.”

Shepard placed a datapad on the table in front of her and pushed it in front of the sobbing maiden. The asari’s look of anguish gave way to a look of confusion as she looked at the datapad, completely unable to understand what Shepard was saying to her. She looked at the pad uncomprehending for long moments until the look of fury returned.

“Goddess, you’re as arrogant as people say. Fuck you! You come here trying to be the hero? Buy my forgiveness? Rescue me from my life? You offer credits for the life of my mother?” She spun the datapad around, so it faced Shepard. “That’s the value you place on my mother’s life? You’re not even close. She was worth ten of you. You couldn’t afford to pay back what you’ve taken from me.”

“You’re right. Like I said, there isn’t anything I can say to lessen your loss. There is nothing I can give you that will bring your mother back. But I can give you resources so that you at least don’t have to worry about the material support you lost when your mother died.”

“Get out!” The asari stood, her biotics flaring. “Get out and take your blood money with you!”

“As you wish.” Shepard stood and moved towards the door. The datapad hit her in the back when she got there.

.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.

Liara and Denai were standing in the small common area outside Elanyha’s apartment when Shepard bolted out the door and stormed past them. Without a word, Shepard ran past the lift and entered the stairwell. Denai moved to pursue her, but paused when she saw that Liara was not following.

“Follow her, please, Denai. As far as she goes.” Liara closed her eyes briefly. “But do not attempt to stop her. I need to have a word with this Elanyha.”

Denai hesitated for the briefest of moments but then turned to catch up with Sarah.

Liara waited calmly until Denai was out of sight before walking to the apartment that Shepard has just vacated. After pausing to see if her presence had been noticed, she signaled for entry. After a slow count to ten, she signaled again.

This time the door burst open, revealing the young maiden that Liara recognized from her research.

“I told you to go!” Elanyha shouted before realizing who she faced, cutting off the last word so hard that Liara heard her bring her teeth together. It only took the youngster a moment to regroup.

“I already told your human, _Peeress_ ,” she stressed the honorific dismissively. “I don’t want your money.”

She tried to close the door, but found it blocked by an unobtrusive movement of Liara’s boot. She looked up and met the older maiden’s eyes.

“You forget your manners, Young One.” Liara’s voice was ice as she addressed Elanyha in High Attena. “A guest is at your door. Invite them in.” 

“You are no _guest_!” The maiden spat out the word. “Just someone else trying to take control of my life. This is as much your fault as anyone else’s. Benezia practically started the war. Without her and Saren, your arrogant human wouldn’t need to buy me off, and my mother would still be alive!”

She tried to close the door again, but Liara stopped it with a palm.

“We have business, Elanyha. We can conduct it now, or we can conduct it later. The choice is entirely up to you, but if I am forced to return, I will not be alone, and I will not be happy.”

“Fine.” Elanyha turned away, allowing the door to fully open. She threw herself onto her couch.

“Say what you want and get out.”

Liara moved to stand over the younger maiden.

“Get. Up.”

Elanyha just glared in return, as Liara stood silently over her. A minute passed. Two. Finally, Elanyha lowered her eyes and stood sullenly, continuing not to make eye contact.

Liara brought her hands together, Elanyha’s reluctant obedience causing her to act on a hunch.

"I am Maiden Liara T’Soni, Head of House T’Soni, and daughter of Benezia," she began in High Attena, "I greet you Maiden Elanyha..."

“Saios, Peeress,” her tone still churlish, but the address no longer expressed as an insult. “My family name is Saios.”

“I know, Elanyha. It is an honorable name. Your family has served Thessia for generations.” She indicated the couch the girl had just vacated. “Sit.”

Elanyha hesitated before continuing. “My home is yours,” she muttered under her breath before motioning to the opposite couch where Shepard was seated earlier. “Please be comfortable. I have little to offer, but I share it all.” She glanced over her shoulder at a kitchen that Liara was certain was practically empty. “May I get you something?”

Liara sat while reining in the beginnings of a smile, working to keep her stern visage. The youth’s High Attena was atrocious, but she was conducting herself well, given the circumstance. “I am fine, thank you.” She wasn’t about to force Elanyha to choose between serving a guest or being able to eat today.

The younger maiden sat, back straight, eyes off to Liara’s left. The girl was obviously torn between the insult she wanted to offer, and the behavior that she knew was right. The mother had done well by this child. Liara was not unaware of the irony in the fact that Kurin had probably spent more time directly instructing her daughter than Benezia had.

“Maiden Elanyha,” began Liara, keeping their interaction more formal for the moment. “May I assume, given how my bondmate left your home, that you chose not to accept my _lioeia_?” Liara deliberately used the Attena word implying an offering towards an unpayable debt.

Liara watched Elanyha struggle with a response that would keep her inside the realm of propriety. She almost succeeded.

“The memory of my mother is not for sale, Peeress,” she finally replied.

“No. It is not. Nor am I trying to purchase it.”

“Good, because I don’t want your money.” The youth managed to maintain a civil tone, but was no longer trying to avoid speaking her mind.

“Nor am I offering you any. However, I do owe Lieutenant Kurin a debt. The payment of that debt, like any other of her assets, falls to you.”

“My mother had no assets to speak of, and your bondmate made sure she never had the chance to collect on any debt. I don’t have her, and I don’t need you.”

“That is a rather selfish position.”

“Not letting your bondmate buy her way out of being guilty? I’ll find some way to live with it.”

“My bondmate will never stop feeling guilt over the losses in the war, but she is not to whom I refer. What of your roommates? Your friends? They share a similar circumstance. Making it through the War through taking refuge in official shelters, only to find themselves without family or clan once the War was over. The four of you together can barely afford this apartment. This assistance would help them as well.”

_“How do you know this?”_

Liara held out a datapad, similar to the one Shepard had placed on the table.

“This is the history of your family. All of it. You descend from a line of warriors going back more than ten thousand years. Perhaps, if you read this history, you will better understand why your mother did what she did. Perhaps you will understand why she chose to become a huntress herself. Perhaps you might even find a way to get over your anger at her for leaving you.”

Elanyha ignored the pad. “It wasn’t her choice.”

“Now you argue she lacked autonomy?”

“No! That’s not what I…”

“Do you think your mother would have wanted to be saved, if it meant losing the war? That she didn’t know what she was doing? That she wouldn’t sacrifice herself willingly for the smallest chance it might save lives? That it might save your life? This is how you honor her memory? Pushing away that which she would have wanted for you?” Liara shook her head. “It becomes obvious to me that you still require the care and direction that you would be getting from a parent.”

Elanyha leapt to her feet. “Who the fuck do you think…” All pretense at respect gone now.

Liara stood as well. “Shepard said before that there were not any actions that you needed to perform in return, now there are."

“Get out.”

Liara nodded. “I will. You will accompany me.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“I disagree. Pack your belongings. You will be returning to the estate with me. Once you’re settled, we’ll arrange for you to resume your studies.”

“You don’t have the right!”

“I have every right. All the provinces are starved for resources. I believe that you are receiving assistance from Dassus in order to pay your rent, to eat? The Matriarchs here will not object that House T’Soni has offered to provide room, board, and education for four adolescent maidens.”

“So I’m a child, is that it? That means you can do whatever you want with me?”

“Within some limits, yes,” agreed Liara.

“And if I refuse?”

“Then the stipend that you and your friends receive in exchange for your assistance with the rebuilding efforts will end”, Liara said sternly.

“You...you can’t do that. I’ll just get a job!”

“You have no skills and little education. The businesses that have reopened will have little use for you and your friends.”

“There’s always jobs that don’t require much skill. Get tea, file records, answer comms...”

“And there are millions of older maidens with more skills and more education begging for such positions already.”

“And when I’m an adult?” She challenged, her demeanor now deflated.

“If you still desire to hate me, to hate Shepard, then so be it.” Liara dropped the datapad onto the table with a loud smack of finality.

“But you will not be doing so from a position of ignorance.” She nodded towards the bedrooms.

“Get your things.”


End file.
